


Children are a Blessing

by RubixaSeraph



Series: Blessings of Family [2]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Family, Fluff, Light Angst, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:42:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24504847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubixaSeraph/pseuds/RubixaSeraph
Summary: June 1st is Children’s Day in China!A What-if drabble:Of Dante having his heart grasped in the tiny little palms of children. From his own family, to Patty, to even teenage Nero.And he still tries to beat up Vergil. But for a different reason entirely.[I know I’m about a whole day late… Also, this was supposed to be a drabble. It is totally not polished. My hope is that this brings some smiles, and maybe I'll polish it off with other one-shots in the future.]
Relationships: Dante/Original Character(s)
Series: Blessings of Family [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1961863
Comments: 14
Kudos: 35





	Children are a Blessing

**Author's Note:**

> While I could have written Vergil and Nero, I think I’m saving that for actual Dadgil week. So have my super indulgent “What-if” for Dante and Snow + co. set divergent after my other work: [Edge of Infinity With You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23746138)
> 
> No knowledge of my Reignite project required!
> 
> This was supposed to be just kid-fluff but then it also turned into one big family fluff. Also, totally a rush job; I wish I had more stuff developed for this but then if I go overboard, this wouldn’t be a one-shot anymore. (So it’s all over the place and unpolished.)
> 
> Also I chose to ignore a lot of details I otherwise would be worried about, because this is supposed to be fluff without plot, so… *throws plot out the window* I don’t care if some things don’t add up! (Yet SOMEHOW, I ended up trying to bridge the entire timeline of the games anyway!)

It started with a phone call, while he and Lady were hanging out. A playful argument about finances while eating pizza, interrupted by the ring of the phone.

“Devil May Cry.” 

The voice on the other line spoke almost shyly: “Hello, darling White Knight.”

Dante was glad he wasn’t eating right at that moment, or he’d choke on his food. It might have been half a year, but some things simply won’t be forgotten easily. “Queenie?” Startled at first, he glanced over at Lady, who was sitting on the couch and glanced over curiously. 

Oh boy, this might not be the best of times, but… play it off cool, Dante. “Hey, doll. What happened to not getting attached?” He leaned back into his chair and propped his feet onto his desk. Part of him wanted to ask how she even got this number, but he already knew she was nosey. 

After all, she left him two large pizzas by bugging the pizzeria he always ordered from, and as a result, weaseled his name out of the store owner, _after_ paying off _his_ tab and leaving _extra money_. 

And he sure as hell wasn’t going to to talk about that in front of Lady. 

“Ah…” Queenie sounded _nervous_ on the other line. “About that…”

He wondered if he ought to feel flattered, that she wasn’t denying about getting attached. But… didn’t she go home? And she lived over somewhere in East Asia, didn’t she?

“I… I debated over and over again if I should call you about this, and truthfully for the longest time I had decided I wasn’t going to, but this whole situation has been nagging at me and nagging at me so I thought I should call and at least…” She was beginning to sound a little panicked. 

“Hey, hey. Chill, sweetheart.” Her tone made him a little concerned. “What’s up?”

Queenie took a deep breath. “Okay. I’m pregnant.”

Dante almost dropped the phone in shock. “Wh-what was that?”

Instead of repeating what she said, she just barreled on: “I know we were careful but as it turns out careful doesn’t account for everything, especially after such a night… And I wasn’t with anyone else within the time frame. I… I thought I should at least… tell you…”

Just _what_ was he supposed to do with this information??

“I… uh…” Dante was speechless. At the same time, he had to scoot his feet off his desk and sit forward a little more properly in his chair, trying to contain his shock without falling over. 

“I’m sorry, I know this isn’t what you would have wanted to happen, but I just thought it was too mean to not let you know! I don’t… I don’t expect anything from you over this, I want to let you know. So, if you’d rather hang up now and pretend I never called, that’s fine! I’m already prepared to raise this child no matter what, and honestly when something like this happens, uh, in my family, we don’t really care to tell the father--”

Now what does _that_ mean? Dante’s head was spinning and half of what Queenie was saying was going over his head. The only thing circling in his head right now was the sheer fact that, far away, across countries and oceans, this young woman that was on the phone with him just told him that she’s pregnant. 

_With his kid._

He only just finally tuned back into the conversation as she said: “I’m sorry I bothered you. You, um, you have my number if you need anything, but otherwise it’s okay if you never call me back. I’ll be going now--”

“Wait!” He stopped her. “Wait! No, don’t… I, uh, yeah I still have that business card. But I can’t really afford international calling.” Shit, isn’t she calling him on international calling? That’s burning minutes right there. “You, um… it’s been how long, since…?” 

“Six months.” She spoke softly. 

There was a lot, and he did mean, a _lot_ , going through his mind. The greatest worry right now, was the immediate flashes of his tragic childhood, and knowing immediately that this child had a target painted on their back just for being related to him. 

And that meant he _had_ to do more than just sit at his desk with his mouth open in shock. What _could_ he do in the long run? He didn’t have a damn fucking clue! But right now? Instinct demands one thing and one thing only:

“I need to see you.” 

“...You don’t have to feel obligated to--”

“I want to see you. Please. Is there some way that…?”

Queenie seemed to hold back a sob, and he was immediately worried about her. “I can very easily book a plane flight for you. First class with special privilege, if you don’t feel comfortable without your hunting gear…”

That’s right, Queenie was from a hunter family. And actually, that made things a little more complicated. They hunted demons and devils. He was increasingly worried about what would happen if her family found out her child was part-devil. He loathed to imagine the what-if’s, and he had to see her as soon as possible. 

He agreed, and she got what information she needed from him in order to book said plane ticket. Before hanging up, he remembered to ask: “Wait! I never got your name. Your actual name.” 

He waited, almost eagerly, to hear her respond: “I’m… I’m Kassandra. Usually I’m Kassy, though. But…”

Kassy, huh? Kassy… such a sweet name.

“But you can still call me Queenie. I liked that.”

His mouth felt a bit dry, and the only response he had was: “You liked that, huh…”

“...Yeah. I’ll be Queenie. Just for you. I’ll… see you in a few days? ...Dante?”

“Yeah, see you in a few days.”

When he hung up, Lady had a curious expression on her face: “Soooo what was that about?”

“Um. Business.” Dante responded carefully as he set the phone back down on its receiver. “Personal business.”

Lady just raised an eyebrow at him, but didn’t press as she grabbed another slice of pizza. 

* * *

Queenie… No, Kassy.

Lived in a mansion on a private island in Hong Kong. 

Dante had more than just one big bombshell dropped on him that day. First, Kassy’s family was definitely rich. (Oh, he knew his first eight years of life were definitely without financial problems where his parents were concerned, so he wasn’t without the concept of the finer things in life. But this… he wasn’t expecting it.)

The second thing was that Kassy’s family were related to devils. 

That was something else to unpack entirely. He tensed the moment he had stepped foot in the premises, sensing the devilish presences within the residence. He was then surprisingly smothered by a devil’s concern: Aegis, or Lance, as he called himself, was apparently _a friend of Sparda._

That history, with the story of how Aegis was tasked (and bound) to watching over a hellgate, was something else to digest later. 

_Kassy was part-devil._ She had apparently inherited stealth abilities that allowed her to mask the part of her that was demon, but she had known from the get-go what Dante was. 

And that was another admission from her: She knew _what_ he was, but not _who_ he was. Not until she came home, and Aegis picked up on Dante’s scent from her, and recognized it to be Sparda’s kin. 

This mansion was nice. The people in it were nice, too. Kassy’s older brothers were a bit wary of him at first, but they loved their “baby sister”, and when it quickly became clear that he was nice to her, her siblings warmed up to him with more acceptance. 

This place seemed quite safe, too. The people who lived here were well-protected, with the help of each-other. 

But Dante had lived such a different life from them, and wasn’t entirely comfortable with moving out of the country he grew up in.

He couldn’t stay. But he nervously, with his heart pounding, told Queenie:

“I don’t think I can live with myself, if I just… left this all on you.” 

When Kassy tried to speak again on the topic that this kind of situation wasn’t unusual in her family, Dante had to interrupt: “No, no, listen… It’s not just about leaving you to raise the kid. I just can’t… My dad left before I was eight. I lost my mom not long after. And then… and then I lost my brother. There are just too many missing pieces in my life now… and I don’t want to be just another missing piece in this kid’s life, okay? I don’t want to be just a visitor in their life… But, the life you have here? I don’t think I can adjust to it. But at the same time… I guess it would be just as unfair to ask you to adjust to my kind of life, too. And my kind of life is a big gigantic mess.” 

“What if I don’t mind going with you?”

He stared. 

She was still beautiful and graceful as when he first met her. Even with her rounded midsection, she still managed to move to the couch he was sitting on with grace, and settled down beside him: “I heard you the first time, when you said that your living conditions and the life you live isn’t ideal or safe, but I think…” She leaned into his shoulder, and he was reminded of how soft and gentle she was, in between the things they did on the one night they spent together. “I think your love for the child will be worth it. If you are willing to do your best, I am happy to go with you. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but this place doesn’t have servants. We rarely do. We’re the ones that take care of this place. I can settle for a lot less, and I can also cook. Besides that, I do have money. We won’t have to start off completely without help.”

She was going along with it so much, that Dante felt like there was no way this was real. He’s never had much luck in anything. Would this ideal scenario, this ideal _attempt_ , actually turn out okay?

But, being the somewhat scatterbrain that he was when in a conversation, Dante suddenly remembered something: “You didn’t have to pay off my pizza tab. Or leave that money…”

She pouted a little. “I… I don’t like seeing people go hungry.” She then said, more softly: “I liked you. And I take care of people I like.”

Awed, his heart was melting at the prospect that this was somehow _happening_. That through all the blunders in his life, he suddenly was about to have something akin to family that was _his_ , was all too bizarre. 

He hugged her close, and admitted, more like promised: “I’d like to take care of people I like, too.”

She smiled, and then gently moved his hand so that it was flush against her abdomen. “Then this little one will be very lucky.”

And then he felt the child kick. 

And his heart absolutely melted into a puddle.

* * *

After further trepidation in conversation and planning, Dante made the trip back to his shop, tried his damndest at tidying the place up, and then did everything he could to make the place more like _home_. 

Lady had visited again, once, and was surprised to find that he had cleaned. She also was surprised he was bothering with remodeling at all. “What’s this, now? Didn’t you already fix this place up, once? I’m surprised you cared to make this place look less dumpy at all.”

Dante frowned. He didn’t really want to properly explain anything to Lady, yet. So he tried to dodge the topic: “Lady, how much do I actually owe you for that bike, and the loan you gave me to fix this place up the first time?”

“Oh, what, now you want to talk about your debt?”

He sighed as he was in the middle of painting a wall. “Just give me the invoice. An actual proper invoice.”

Lady scoffed, thinking he was joking. “Haha, yeah, like you’d have the money to pay it back now.”

“Do you want your money, or not? I can have it for you by tomorrow.”

She stared hard at him. He tried to ignore the stare and went back to painting. He had embarrassingly told Kassy of his mess of a lifestyle, mostly due to growing up an orphan that attracted trouble until he was more able to contain the incidents that happened because of him. And though it gravely hurt his ego to do so, he was determined to take this “clean slate” that was being offered to him. Kassy insisted on letting her settle some of his financial matters so that they could start fresh.

“Come to think of it, where did you get this money to remodel? How are you suddenly talking about paying me back?” Lady narrowed her eyes at him. 

“Had something to do with that business I went on.”

“Yeah, sure, and you actually came back from a job with enough money to be in the positive? Something weird is going on here, and you’ve been a little off since that phone call. Still weirded out that you suddenly care about remodeling. What’s going on, Dante?”

Knowing this was hardly something he could escape, he set the paint roller down, and turned around nervously to regard her. He shuffled his feet a bit, placed his hands on his hips, and tried to figure out what to even say first.

He’s fairly certain she was going to laugh at him. 

“So, I guess I’m gonna be a dad in a few months.”

Lady tilted her head and knitted her brow in a telltale expression saying that she thought she heard wrong. “What?”

“There’s this girl. Met her about half a year ago. Had something of a one-night thing with her. I’m sure you can figure out the rest.”

“Dante.” Lady spoke evenly. “That’s a _lot_ of blank spaces for me to fill in here. So, okay, let me get this straight… No, let me start with this: How could you be so stupid?!” She yelled. “You knocked someone up?”

He felt indignant at her remark. “Hey! We were actually pretty responsible, you know? I used protection. It just didn’t work out.”

“ _Didn’t work out_. Dante, you’re… you…You’re not _human_. Does she know that? How do half-devils like you work? Is the child going to start out looking human at all? Wait, nevermind that! So, what? She’s going to have this baby and you’re going to raise them?”

Crossing his arms, he decided he was going to answer everything she just asked: “I’m half-human, don’t forget that. Yes, she knows. You might be surprised to hear this, but she’s got a bit of devil blood in her, too, so she’s not going to be in for some scary surprise, if that’s what you’re worried about. And, yes, she’s going to have the baby, and _we_ are going to raise her.”

He could see the different levels of shock going through Lady’s expressions right now, and she stood there, mouth agape for a moment, before she finally found it in herself to work words out of her mouth: “Her. You already know it’s a girl?”

“She told me, yeah. A daughter.” 

“And this woman is coming here. To live here. With you.” 

“Her name is Kassandra. She goes by Kassy.” He picked up the paint roller again to dip into fresh paint, and continued his work. 

Lady remained in stunned silence for a long while, before backing into the doorframe (seeing as the walls were newly painted and might not be dry yet) to lean against it in shock. She slid down to the floor, and sat there for a while, before saying: “Forget about the bike. I’ll remind you of the amount for the loan for repairs.”

“...You sure about that? You made a big deal out of that bike.”

“I’m sure. You’re doing this because you want a clean start, right?”

He didn’t answer her. He didn’t need to. 

“Hey, Dante?”

“Yeah?”

“You’ll be good to them, right?” She asked softly. When he turned around to look at her, still sitting on the floor, there was an unreadable smile on her face. 

“I’m going to try my damndest to be.”

“If you do anything stupid--”

“Lady.” This time, he gave her the most reassuring smile he could give: “I’m never going to do something that would have to make you put an end to me. Promise. You don’t need to go through that again.” Besides that, he doesn’t ever want to fight to the death against her. 

“Good. But I’ll be keeping an eye on you.” She finally cracked a grin. 

* * *

Things were nervous, at first, when Kassy first arrived. But she was very sweet, and very competent about matters of the house. Surprisingly, she wasn’t a neat-freak, which gave Dante reason to give out a sigh of relief. Her demands were pretty simple: enough cleanliness for the sake of safety and health, but not everything had to be dealt with the day-of so long as it was out of the way and wouldn’t pose an immediate hazard.

Dante didn’t really know enough about how to child-proof a home, but Kassy, having grown up in a family that put a lot of effort into child-rearing, knew exactly how to help him. She was also very pleased with him when he easily assembled a crib, and gosh he never felt his heart so light before.

And Dante shouldn’t have been surprised, but when Kassy found one of the porn magazines he missed during his tidying up, she flipped through it, and smiled a little, and handed it back to him: “Page 12 looked nice. You should probably put things like these in one place, though.” She was very unabashed about sexual matters, though she could be shy about many other things. 

Sometimes, when she was feeling up to it, she cooked. And she cooked _very_ well. Dante just about teared up when she first cooked for them. He hadn’t had a proper home cooked meal in years. 

Lady stopped by often enough, curious about Kassy at first, and then became friendly enough to check in on them as a whole.

And during the time he got to know her better, he couldn’t help but stay close, and be sensitive to her needs and wants. When he went away on a job, he started to feel that pull inside him, telling him that he needed to work fast and check on home soon. From the start, and even moresoe now, she was Queenie: his lovely Queen. 

She also appreciated a few of the trophies he brought back from his hunts. And here he was worried she was going to call him weird.

Roughly two and a half months went by like this. 

And in late November, their daughter was born. Snowy white hair, and all pale skin. When she first opened her eyes, they were blue as sky. At a glance, she certainly looked everything like Dante. No one could mistake her for anyone else’s. 

Dante was somewhat disappointed that the babe didn’t inherit her mother’s exotic eye colour. Violet would have looked just as good on her. 

But she was still every bit special. 

When Kassy laid eyes on their new bundle of joy, she said with a soft and joyful expression: “Oh, Dante… can we call her Snow?”

Something, a memory, came up in his mind that made him smile more than he already was. And who was he to deny her this want? It was a pretty name. 

“Sure we can. She’s our special Snowflake.”

* * *

There were sleepless nights. Though, Dante needed less sleep than the average person, and Kassy was mostly nocturnal, apparently. So, sleepless nights were just their thing. 

And then, it turns out their little Snowflake also preferred to be awake for most of the nights, and sleeping more during daytime hours. 

When she cried during waking hours, it pulled at something within Dante. Somehow, something inside of him understood what her distress meant. He knew if she was hungry, or if she needed some other form of attention. 

Kassy was also sensitive to it, and smiled mesmerizingly to him when he brought it up: “Is it so strange? That connection you feel? My mother told me this was natural. Maybe it’s because we’re all part-devils. Ones that actually raise our young. Here, hold her… She wants your warmth. I’ll put together something for lunch.” And she left a kiss on his cheek, too. 

Somehow, so quickly, they not only warmed up to each other domestically, but they clearly enjoyed what they had. Dante wasn’t sure if it was love. He hoped it was love. But he was afraid to bring it up to her just yet. (Which was strange, when there was Snow, right there between them, like a bonding glue that they gravitated towards.)

And Dante was ever grateful that Kassy knew what to do most of the time. Even Lady was a bit surprised. Lady herself wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with babies, and when she visited, she commented on how Kassy already seemed to know everything she needed to do. There was little fumbling around diapers, or feeding, or how to hold the child. She was doing very well for a new mother. 

Kassy blushed at the compliment and explained to Lady that her family kind of placed an emphasis on this kind of stuff, and she was home-schooled. So it was a required knowledge. 

Though Dante had to learn some of the tasks himself, and bear through some of the more terrible things, such as changing diapers, he carefully followed Kassy’s example. After tending to Snow, he would pick her up, and hold her and speak to her. As she got bigger, and could interact more, he would play with her. 

She was an absolute joy. 

* * *

At six months, Snow was surprisingly already clinging to furniture and trying to stand. Lady, who had (secretly, but then had to admit it) read through some child development books, was shocked. 

“Isn’t she only about six months? Isn’t there a few more months before she can try to stand?”

Kassy was somewhat surprised at this, too, but then she laughed, and said: “Well, it’s probably because of what’s in the blood…”

Meanwhile, Lady simply watched as Dante sat on the ground, on the other side of the couch that Snow was clinging to, coaxing the girl: “Come here, Snowflake! Can you make it over to daddy?”

Gosh, Lady didn’t think this was something she’d ever see. When she had first met Dante, he was barely an adult and was definitely the epitome of “brash teenager.” Now here he was, just a few years later, with his heart wrapped in the tiny palm of this little girl. 

The little princess smiled, and oh heck quite a few of her baby teeth were already in. As she shuffled a little down the couch towards Dante, Lady looked over at Kassy: “I just saw teeth, didn’t I? Are they supposed to come in this fast? And… that must be uncomfortable, when nursing…”

Kassy hummed with an obvious look of a happy and proud mother, and didn’t quite give a full answer: “She’s a little monster. Just like her dad.”

Snow babbled as she made her way to Dante, and he gleefully picked her up. “That’s my girl! Come on, want to go see Lady? Let’s go see Lady!” 

He brought the little hellion over to Lady, who smiled and gave the girl obligatory tickles on the cheek. Dante then warned her: “Don’t let her grab your fingers or anything. She might bruise you.”

Startled, Lady gave him a wide-eyed look: “What? Just how strong is she already?”

“It’s my best estimate. Her grip is pretty strong, but I’m made of tougher stuff. Careful how you let her handle you, until she learns how to control herself better.”

She huffed. “Of course, Dante. You’d be the one to put me in the spot of having to be wary of getting hurt by an infant.”

But Snow was definitely adorable. Lady might find Dante to be a bratty adult, but they were good friends. And a part of her could tell that little “Snow White” was going to grow up into the most badass princess ever. 

She wondered if Dante would let her teach the little one how to shoot her first gun. Or at least help give her pointers. Maybe Snow’s first lesson should still come from her beloved daddy.

* * *

When Snow was almost ten months old, Kassy’s family sent them something in the mail:

A specially commissioned katana from Japan, with a note from Aegis:

_I understand the Yamato has been lost with your brother. I am still, even now, saddened by your loss of your brother. I understand that this gift for Snow would come with a lot of bitter emotions, but the best swordsmith I know hails from Japan. Take no offense, but you are still too young to have power enough to craft for her a blade of your own._

_Keep this blade sealed. Hone her abilities. When you believe her to be ready, give this blade to her. Let her unseal it, and share with it her power. Let her name it. And it will become hers._

_A kin of Sparda, of course, should have a special sword to call their own._

It was indeed a bittersweet gift, Dante thought. If Snow was to learn from anyone how to wield a katana in its most elegant form, it should have been from her uncle. From Vergil. Dante was trained, yes, but even he would admit that Vergil was the best at it. 

For now, he stowed it away into storage, carefully placed on a wall mount with the rest of his Devil Arms. 

After Snow finally settled down to sleep, when it was barely a few hours before sunrise, Dante pulled Kassy close in bed, somewhat solemn. But he told her: “You’re family’s too nice, Queenie. How can I thank them for this?”

Softly giggling, she snuggled close and said: “I think it’s more of the other way around. Aegis loves kids. Loves family. And I think that Sparda was his best and only friend, for a long time.”

He thought about it for a bit, and mumbled softly into her hair: “What about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Queenie… Snow is so wonderful. I look at her and I just want to give her the world. An impossible thing, I know, but I guess this is what it feels like to have a family. And you… I know it’s kind of a bit of a backwards situation here, but I can’t imagine this whole thing without you here, either. I was a giant mess all my life. Even worse after the tower. Was just going to shuffle my feet through life until the day everything finally stopped. But then, in through the doors came you, and you brought me Snow. I’m almost afraid to say it, but is it okay to love you for that?” He swallowed. “That doesn’t sound like a very romantic thing, does it?”

“No. It’s romantic so long as we think it’s romantic.” Kassy laughed. “Who cares about conventional romance? I like this.” She nuzzled at his chest. “I like this place. I like you. I like what we have. I like your brashness but also how nice you are. You can be a bit of an idiot sometimes but you always have a kind heart. I don’t regret any bit of what we have.” she then pressed a kiss to his neck. 

“Should we… get married?” He asked tentatively. 

She laughed. “Do we need to? I don’t need a marriage certificate to tell me who my mate is.”

“Mate, huh?” Sometimes he forgot that she had a bit of devil in her. “I like the sound of that.” He turned his body and head to check the cradle. Snow was fast asleep. If they were careful…

“This is… just a thought in the back of my head…” He murmured as he turned back around to wrap his arm about Kassy. 

“Hmm…?”

“It’s one of those brash thoughts. But, would you want another one?”

“Another kid?”

“Yeah.”

“With you?” She leaned in close and whispered: “As many as you want.”

* * *

“Another” turned out to be “two more,” and it was safe to say that “as many as he wants” would definitely stop there. He’s definitely going to have to bust his ass a bit more on jobs in order to keep up with the extra additions to the family. To say that he was shocked with the news was an understatement, but he was also very pleased. 

He was going to give his kids the best life he could offer. A small part of his mind echoed the words that Vergil had thrown at him at the top of the tower, but he reassured himself that this was going to be different. Because, for one thing, he was going to stay right here, with them. 

Early April, on a day that was very few days shy of his own birthday, Kassy gave birth to twin boys. Again, they had pure white hair, and bright blue eyes. When the first one was handed to Dante, he almost cried. 

Kassy wanted him to pick their names this time. He thought long and hard about it, and knew in his heart that he wanted to give “Anthony” as a name to one of them. So, the older twin was named Anthony. Little Tony will get a better life than Dante did, when he was running the streets and trying to survive as “Tony.” 

And with careful consideration, he picked out “Caesar” for the younger twin. He didn’t have anything super sentimental to give to this child, but he saw him as a gift from Queenie. It was only right to give him a strong name. (A little part of him thought that this was probably the only bit of tribute he could give towards his asshat, idiotic, and power-hungry brother. Vergil did often act like he was a king… a controlling and selfish one.)

* * *

Snow was barely turning 8, and the twins had turned 6. It was a terribly rainy night, when a demoness came through his door and threw a motorcycle at him. He was ever thankful that Kassy and the kids were in the back living area and not in the front of the office with him. 

After debilitation, he went to Mallet Island regardless. Kassy and the kids spend their waiting days with Lady. He knew that, should the worse ever happen, Kassy’s family would always be a place for his family to return to. 

But he prevailed. And he returned. With Trish and a heavy heart. 

There was a lot to untangle after his return. He was every bit of a mess after what happened with Nelo Angelo, but he had to put on a brave face for a while. He didn’t want to upset his kids with the tragic story about his brother. (He never brought up Vergil in front of them. They had two perfectly fine and good uncles on Kassy’s side of the family. It was better to not let them know about their power-hungry and now very dead one.)

But Kassy, his Queenie, saw how hard he was taking everything. And she could understand his pain. She would break, too, if she had to fight one of her own brothers like that. 

There was also the matter of Trish. The poor demoness, though she had found out about the Devil Hunter in order to lure him out for Mundus, had somehow missed entirely any information about the children. That was a blessing in itself. Dante loathed to think about what would happen if Mundus caught wind of Sparda’s grandchildren. 

But Trish was also, despite her newfound free will (that had been a fanning flame for a while,) flabbergasted about children. After the children had eagerly tried to barrel down Dante, excited for his return, Snow immediately noticed the startled demon woman that tried to hide behind Dante, and said: “Daddy, who’s this? Wow, she looks a lot like Grandma Eva!” 

He still had that photo on his desk, and of course, the kids got to learn who was in that photo. 

“I… these are…?” Trish was stunned. 

In that moment, Dante simply went with the flow, and decided on the first thing that came to his mind: “She does, doesn’t she? Here. This is Trish. You can call her Auntie Trish.” No explanation, but the news of a new “auntie” was enough to get the kids excited and flock to Trish in curiosity. 

Trish hissed in his ear: “What does that mean? What did you just do?”

He laughed. “It means, you’re part of a family now.”

* * *

Not long after the Mallet Island incident, Kassy suggested they visit her childhood home and her family during the kids’ summer break. 

Snow, Tony, and Caesar got to meet their other cousins. (Holy heck Kassy wasn’t kidding when she said her family liked kids. There was recently a fifth addition, and still the talk of more.)

This gave Dante a bit of time to sort out some of his feelings over what had transpired at the island. Evan, Kassy’s second oldest brother, spent an entire night drinking with him. The next morning, Kassy’s eldest brother, Roy, pulled Dante out for a duel to clear his head of his hangover. (It was something of an impressive feat, to get drunk to that extent. But apparently, their family also lived by some drinking traditions, and had a lot of alcohol on hand for times like these.)

And there, in the courtyard of Kassy’s childhood home, Dante finally decided it was time to start teaching Snow, and even Tony and Caesar, the basics of fighting. 

Did he hope that it would never come to that? He wasn’t a fool. 

Fighting was in their blood. Better to teach them how to use their abilities now, than for them to fumble destructively with them later. (And a part of him thought back to Sparda, and thought… it should be like this. Training your children how to fight. It wasn’t always a matter of the dangers or self defense. Something within him is stoked about teaching them how to hold a sword.)

And then, Kassy, having been a little bit homesick, also found some time and asked Dante to go shopping with her and the kids. This was the first time she was able to actually take him to the places she talked about, and it was odd to think of it as a date, when they had three energetic kids at the scene. But then, Dante realized, that didn’t mean they needed to stop having things that amounted to a date, right? Family time, date, whatever you want to call it. 

He liked it.

At one point, they stopped by a shop display that had hairpins, and Snow was very taken with all the sparkling trinkets. So he bought her a bright red rose hairpin that she was eyeing. It stood out splendidly against her white hair. She was giddy for the rest of the day. Tony later found a tacky pendant that he really wanted, and that prompted Caesar to look for something similar. By the end of the day, the kids had been showered with a small assortment of toys and accessories. (Kassy was determined to splurge some of her family’s money today.)

When they stopped by a place to eat, Dante tried to keep the kids patient and in their seats, while Kassy went to put in their order. When she came back, she sat down across from him, made sure Tony and Caesar both were going to _remain_ in their seats, and looked across the table to grin at Dante with Snow beside him. 

“People are staring a bit.” She said softly. 

“Yeah. Kind of the usual thing, huh? The hair makes people curious. Guess a whole family of us like this attracts a lot of attention, especially here, where I’m clearly foreign.” He shrugged. He just hoped nothing… irksome, comes of this. 

“They’re also talking.” She said, but there was still that smiling expression on her. Dante couldn’t understand all of the conversation about them, since he didn’t know a lick of Cantonese. 

“Yeah? Nothing bad about us, I hope?” He’ll take words being thrown at himself, but not the rest of his family. 

“Lots of curiosities. Your complexion draws attention, but not entirely in a bad way.” She leaned in and continued: “I shouldn’t be preening, but some people are jealous. When I was in line, I heard someone ask…” Her next words were full of mirth: “‘ _Who’s that godly beautiful man? Those children are like fairies. What lucky girl gets to have a family like that?’_ They’re very fine compliments, though maybe a bit awkward in English. They’re calling our little ones divine.” 

Dante laughed. What a fine irony that was. “Hear that, kiddos? You’re little angels.” 

“I don’t want to be an angel. I want to be a knight!” Tony corrected excitedly, legs swinging from the chair he was in. 

“...Aren’t we devils?” Caesar whispered. “We can’t be angels.” He seemed to find this funny. 

“But I don’t mind being an angel! I make the perfect snow angels, right?” Snow gleefully beamed. 

And when she threw tantrums, which, like any child, she did have her moments, her tears rolled down her cheeks half-frozen, and the temperature always dropped. She _was_ a snow-angel. When she got upset, she was surprisingly more of a handful than the twins. Dante was really afraid that Tony and Caesar were going to be behavioural repeats of when he and Vergil were young, but…

That hasn’t become a concern. 

A waitress stopped by to bring them their orders, and praised the kids in all sorts of ways. Kassy had to play translator a little, but the waitress was simply delighted when the kids told her things like “thank you.”

* * *

It was very rare for Moririson to give Dante an escort job. Though, the moment Patty was brought through the doors, Dante could understand why there were few people Morrison would like to trust this job with. (Besides that, it sounded like it was going to pay well. Morrison did once bring up that he never took Dante to be a family man like the way he was, nevermind the fact that very few merc-types could hold up this kind of family setup. He knew Dante worked hard where he could, even if at times he still botched some other things up during a job.)

The entire thing seemed fishy. What were demons doing, going after this girl? Still, when she first got separated from his side, he cursed at himself. Though, it wasn’t like he was expecting for her to run off on her own, thinking she had found her mother. He really should have asked for more proper details from the girl about her circumstances. And he did just that, over ice cream sundaes to sooth Patty’s nerves. The journey was a bit hard. He wasn’t used to having to deal with a completely human child while on a job. Or much at all. His kids had a few friends, but ultimately, due to the family’s devil-natures, the kids enjoyed more time with their siblings, where they could completely be themselves. 

But all’s well that ends well, right? After the entire situation, Patty probably came out of it with a better deal: enough compensation so that she could afford some nicer things for herself. The poor girl didn’t deserve to be in an orphanage, but really, what was there that could be done about it?

Dante already had a full house going on. But Patty was welcome to visit any time. She was about the same age as the twins, and even if Snow was about two years older, they got along pretty well. Well, the boys sometimes turned their noses at when Patty wanted to do something related to frilly tea parties, and especially wouldn’t stick around when she wanted to watch soap operas on their TV. But Snow was a model big sister, and spent lots of time with Patty. 

The further mess that ensued, up until he finally had to deal with Abigail, was a beast of a roller coaster in itself. 

Patty had more guts than any normal girl he’d known, willingly jumping into portals the way she did. Still, both Patty and Snow probably didn’t need to have an image of him bleeding on a cross, impaled on a sword, haunting their minds for who knows how long. 

Not one of his proudest moments. 

But, again, all’s well that ends well, right?

* * *

“All’s well does not end well.”

When Dante came back from Dunmary island, he felt a little shitty about the situation. 

It should have been him, really. His… _responsibility_. But, Lucia…

She was a saint. She had said, first, that she would go. But he couldn’t help but feel like she didn’t deserve to go into Hell to finish what was started. Yet, Lucia was clearly another demon with a heart. 

“Don’t you have a family to go back home to? I can’t let you just go into Hell like this, without knowing when you’ll be back.”

And she was right. She was completely right. 

But it still felt wrong. 

When he got home, though this wasn’t the same kind of pain he had felt from the Temen-ni-gru, or from Mallet Island, he still felt like shit. 

And Snow picked up on it. 

“Dad? Why are you sad?” She snuggled up into him on the couch and asked. 

He didn’t want to overly worry her, so he made it simple: “I made a new friend out on the job. But to finish the job, she had to go somewhere very dangerous, and there’s no guarantee that she can find her way back. I’m worried.” He didn’t want to explain why he felt bad. He didn’t want to make her worry, because Lucia made the choice that allowed him to keep his promise: that he wouldn’t leave his family. 

“You’re worried if she’ll find her way home?”

“Yeah. It’s nothing for you to worry about, Snowflake.” He patted her on the head. “She can take care of herself. I just hope she can go home soon, and be with her family, too.”

Snow smiled. “Then I’ll hope so, too!”

He enjoyed cuddling with his daughter for a while, while listening to Tony and Caesar get heated over a video game on the other side of the office. 

“Hey dad? Can you braid my hair?”

“Sure thing, Snowflake.”

* * *

When Snow started to near 12 years of age, she started…

To grow a tail. 

Dante was honestly a little worried about the entire scenario. Though Snow exhibited more strength than the average person, and an acclimation towards frosting things over (she often frosted over glass and drew on it,) she hadn’t shown any other signs of being different until now. 

It took a lot from Kassy to soothe his concerns. Somehow, this was a common occurrence, as observed in her family. Once in a while, someone develops a physical demonic trait. 

In less than a month, Snow had a long red-orange tail that glowed golden yellow. It was surprisingly boneless; all muscle, flexible, and prehensile. One of the first things she discovered from when it was still growing, was that she could make it as thin and flat as she could, and wrap it around her waist, under her shirt. 

She cried when it first started to come in, worried about it exposing her inhuman secrets that she tried so hard to keep, because she “promised mommy and daddy.” But, very soon, when she figured out how to hide it, she adopted an easy attitude about it, and went back to her bright and bubbly self. 

When she was home, she didn’t bother hiding her tail, and started to use it for all sorts of things. (Patty started buying ribbons and tied it to Snow’s tail. She wasn’t phased at all.)

“Dad, look!” She would sometimes eagerly show him tricks and the likes. There were, however, a few times where she had broken something when she tried to throw something with her tail. There was a stern talking to, but both Dante and Kassy were familiar with the mentality that a skill can only be honed with practice, and simply had to put in some rules in place for her. 

Tony and Caesar were a little envious, because with her newfound tail, she could do all sorts of new things, and it gave her an advantage in their rough-and-tumbles. There was a bit of drama, when Kassy had to explain to the boys that everyone is different. Dante chose this moment to twist a little bit of his past experience and told them:

“Hey, don’t worry too much about it. You’ll grow into amazing people. You don’t need to have a tail to be awesome. I don’t have a tail, and I’m still cool, right? Besides, I didn’t _really_ grow into my demon form until I was 19. So give it time, okay?” 

Though it did abate some of the agitation, this prompted all three children to ask more about his Devil Trigger. He supposed, at this point, there was no harm in letting them see more of it, beyond just the partial triggers he did before. (He had mastered the art of changing his eyes, and used it on the occasion he needed to tell any of his children that they were in trouble and that he was being serious.)

* * *

On Snow’s 12th birthday, Dante decided it was finally time for her to actually unseal the sword Aegis had sent her. 

The blade, initially a plain steel colour, changed at the touch of her power, and became an icy blue-white. The sheath, also, changed to white. With it, he taught her how to balance her energy with it, and better control her icy powers. 

She named the sword Kirayuki. 

It wasn’t going to be long before Tony and Caesar would be ready for their gifts, too. 

He couldn’t believe how fast time was going. 

His Snowflake was 12 already. The twins were turning 10 soon. 

And they were all such a happy family. 

What more could he ask for?

* * *

Two years later, Fortuna happened. 

When Trish said: “Dante, you should come and check this place out personally.” After she had infiltrated the place, he thought she just wanted him to see what was fucked up about the place. (And it was definitely fucked up.)

But, no. It was Nero that she was referring to. 

He had a bit of panic at first. After 14 years, he had a stable family life going on, and the idea that maybe he had… a bit more of a fuck-up than he thought, was certainly worrisome. 

But then, then…

It became really clear who Nero was. 

And Dante was absolutely _pissed_ at his brother. 

So, when all was said and done, and Nero asked if they’d see each other again, Dante went home and told Kassy everything that transpired. 

And a few days later, they all dropped by Fortuna. 

* * *

“What the f-” Nero’s curse died in his throat, purely out of respect for the fact that Dante didn’t just drop by Fortuna alone. 

“Hey, kid! Picking up the pieces okay there?”

Before Nero had the chance to really absorb what he was seeing, he immediately snapped back: “I don’t know? You tell me!” He pointed at the ruined city-scape behind him. 

Dante’s chuckle definitely seemed a little dry now. Though, honestly, the city wasn’t escaping damage from the sheer crazy plan that Sanctus had cooked up. This aftermath was… a disgrace. The Order’s disgrace. And Nero and Kyrie were still trying to figure out where to go from here. 

“This is Nero?” A tall girl from behind Dante asked. She seemed to be just a bit younger than Nero himself. White hair, blue eyes… Just like him. Just like Dante. And the other two kids to the side… That woman with them, was she their mother?

“Uh, yeah. I’m Nero.” He swallowed, not sure what this image in front of him meant. 

“Hello, cousin!” The girl ran out from behind Dante, towards Nero, and tackled him with a hug. In this moment of great confusion, he still managed to notice that this girl had a tail, and it was also wrapped around him, with her arms. 

He remained stunned and embraced as the other two kids, identical twins who were probably about 12, came up to him. 

“Whoa! You have a cool arm!” The one that went to his right immediately noticed. Nero wanted to hide it, but then remembered… These people were probably different, just like him, right?

“What… is going on?” Nero finally found his words and blurted.

The brown-haired woman that was with them called out sweetly: “Snow, you’re overwhelming him.”

Snow finally let go, and laughed. “I’m sorry! It’s just… Dad said you went through a lot.”

And when she said “dad” she meant Dante, right? And she called him… cousin?

“‘A lot’ is a bit of an understatement. So, um… you called me… your cousin?”

He heard Dante make some sort of choked sound from the back of his throat, before saying: “Strap in, kid. Your surprises aren’t over, yet.”

* * *

Nero could tell that, despite everything, Dante was still hiding something. Sure, it was already a bit hard to take in that he was related to Sparda, and it was a pretty big disappointment that his father was dead. Dante didn’t elaborate on that.

When he asked Snow about it, she said: “Truth be told, dad hadn’t ever talked to us about Uncle Vergil, ever. Until now. Seems like he was gone before I was even born. I guess I can’t blame him for not talking about it though. That was his twin brother, you know? I know if Tony or Caesar lost one of each other… it would hurt them. It would hurt me, too.” She smiled bitterly. “I’m sorry that you dad’s been dead for a long time. We wish we knew who your mom was. But, you’ll still have us!”

Nero supposed he’d have to settle for this. Truth be told, there was no question as to whether or not he would be happy with this. This was more than he could ever hope for. 

But there was still Kyrie. 

She still needed him. 

Besides, Dante looked like he had a lot on his hands already. Nero couldn’t possibly impose. And he was old enough to take care of himself now. 

But it was still nice to know that, out there, there was family he could call upon. 

* * *

When Morrison showed up in Fortuna one day to deliver to Nero the neon signs, Snow had gone with him. 

“Look, Nero! Dad wanted you to have these!” She excitedly took the package from Morrison and handed it over. Nero was stunned. 

“You’re so lucky! But I guess you’re older than me, and you were already an awesome knight! So dad thought you could do your own thing just fine.” She then leaned in and whispered: “Hey, when dad allows me to hunt on my own, maybe I could come here and hang out with you?”

“Don’t you want to, I don’t know, stay close to your family?”

She blinked at him. “You’re family, too.”

* * *

Sometimes Snow went over to Fortuna outside of family gatherings, just to spend time with Nero. Tony and Caesar sometimes came with her, but many times, they would rather spend their breaks from school differently. 

Snow would help Nero a bit with the Yamato, too, since she also wielded a katana. (“I’m a bit jealous. The Yamato is beautiful… but I would never replace my Kirayuki, anyway.”) 

When Nico barged into his life, Snow seemed to hit it off with her immediately. 

Eventually, Snow remained in Fortuna, and their little mobile branch of Devil May Cry worked out well. When Snow first declared she wanted to stay for sure, Nero had gotten a call from Dante:

“Hey, kiddo! You better take care of your cousin. I’m putting her in your care.”

There was barely any threat in it, but Nero snarked back at him anyway. Snow always got a giggle out of his interactions with his uncle. 

This was life for Nero now. With Kyrie, Snow, Nico, and the kids they fostered from the orphanage. When holidays came around, there was always a big family gathering. On certain holidays that he had no idea about before, he was even able to bring Kyrie, Nico, and the kids over to his Aunt Kassy’s side of the family. 

Life was good. What more could he ask for?

Well, he could ask for not having his arm torn off by a stranger in his garage. Of all the days it had to happen, it was when Snow went home to see her family, too.

* * *

To say that V was very surprised when he was led to the Devil May Cry was a grand understatement. When Morrison pushed open the door with a “Well, here we are.” V wasn’t expecting the place to be somewhat clean and tidy, first of all. 

Second, instead of Dante at the desk, he saw a white-haired young woman sitting on the corner of the desk, talking on the phone: “Your birthday party? Oh Patty, I’d love to! But… You see, Nero got hurt really bad, and I’m about to head back there to check on him. Yeah it happened a few days ago, I’m really worried. I’ll try my best though! Yeah, thank you… Oh, Morrison is here. Hold on… oh, yeah we can talk later. Again, I’m sorry, Patty. I’ll let him know you sent well wishes. Thanks. Bye.” 

Gears were turning in V’s head. Griffon was already making side commentary about how that’s not Dante. _Of course that’s not Dante, you bird-brain._ V gripped his cane tighter. What had he missed, all these years?

“Dad! Morrison’s here, probably with a job!” The young woman shouted towards the back of the building, and then turned to them: “Sorry, though. There’s a chance we might not be able to take the job.”

“Didn’t mean to eavesdrop on you, princess, but did you say Nero was hurt?” Morrison asked.

“Yeah. He’s been out cold, since. Nico said that Kyrie found him bleeding out in the garage.” The woman’s voice was a bit unsteady. “She said someone tore his arm off.”

It couldn’t be a coincidence, could it? The boy… he didn’t have the Yamato by chance, did he?

V realized with a flare of anger, that Dante must have given the Yamato to this boy named Nero. 

He could only guess why. Now that he recalled, that boy was familiar. Probably related to this young woman. Probably related to Dante in the same way she was related to him. 

“I’m going to head out. I was supposed to meet my brothers. We’re trying to put together a get-well-soon basket before heading over to Fortuna.” She seemed to be in a hurry to leave. 

But that was fine. V had bigger concerns right now. Dante’s _family_ was of no consequence to the task at hand. 

* * *

Hindsight was always 20-20. 

Dante thought he was lucky that none of the kids were home when V tried to throw his pitch at him. But after what he had heard, his concern grew. And he decided, sure, he’ll take the job. But he wasn’t going to tell anyone what V’s original pitch was. 

He wasn’t about to get his hopes up. 

And worse yet, if it was Vergil, he was probably going to have to kill him. Again. 

But of course, things didn’t always go as planned, did it?

One entire month went by, and the next thing he knew, V was trying to stab him with the Devil Sword Sparda. He was already pissed off at V for bringing Nero to the scene. _Why_ had he meddled? Nero was better off resting and not getting tangled into any of this. He didn’t need to know that his father was a colossal asshat responsible for this entire mess, and the other mess before this. That was family history Dante would have left buried. 

But it was out of his hands. It felt like it had been out of his hands the moment Vergil showed up at Nero’s garage. 

And then he was back. The ensuing fight Dante had with Nero wasn’t pleasant. Snow, who also _should not have been there_ and should have been with her brothers and Kassy, was the only one who managed to convince Nero that he needed to make his way back to the van for now. 

Still, that didn’t keep him away for long. But it gave Dante enough time to get to Vergil, and the first thing he shouted when he got up there was:

“Vergil, you’re a JACKASS. How could you leave your kid to live in an orphanage, in FORTUNA of all places?!”

* * *

After Dante had dragged Vergil back out of hell, there was a period of fairly awkward adjustments. Snow, however, was eager for another family member to be with them, and charitably cleared out her old room at the office. 

“You don’t have to take the couch while you’re here.” She was a little _too_ warm, Vergil thought. But that quick-to-warm-up-to-people personality was also… very _Dante_. 

“I’m sure Dad would like for you to stay.” She had whispered to him. “You’ll stay, right? Uncle Vergil?” 

She even did the gaze, with her eyes. Though a different eye-shape, clearly something she inherited from her mother, the young woman pouted like Dante does. 

He also wasn’t sure how he felt being called an _Uncle_.

Meanwhile, from another room, he had already heard snippets of one wary conversation from two other occupants of the shop:

“He seems… kind of mean.”

“Dad and his twin sure isn’t anything like us. Or alike. And he’s going to be staying here.”

“I mean, I get why. I think. You get it, too, right?”

“It’s gotta suck though. Can you imagine being separated for that long?”

He actively avoided meeting or speaking to Nero since the Qliphoth. Dante’s great _disapproval_ of his behaviour, oddly, made Vergil actually feel something. As if his disapproval _burned_. 

“So, are you going to speak to Nero, or not?” Dante sat down heavily on the couch beside Vergil, a glass of what was probably whiskey in hand. 

“...When I’m ready.” He tightly gripped the Yamato. Would he be? And he’s sure Dante would throw those words back at him sarcastically. 

“Alright. Sure. But you’ll be making an effort, right?”

That was surprising, though still annoying, coming from Dante. 

“You are very insistent over this.”

“Yeah, I am. You know, I was pretty pissed at you for leaving me. But I’m more pissed at you for leaving your kid. You still haven’t answered me about that. Why?”

“There wasn’t a _why_ , Dante.” Vergil almost snarled, before saying in a quieter voice: “I didn’t know.”

The sigh from Dante told of all of his frustration over the matter. “Didn’t know, huh?”

There was a pause of awkward silence. Vergil thought over it, and finally said:

“I don’t think I should stay.”

“What? No way in hell, Verge. You aren’t leaving again. I’m not letting you go around unsupervised--”

“I can take care of myself.”

“That’s not the _point._ ”

“Then--”

“No. I’m not letting a single member of my family out of my sight. Or at least, outside of being able to be contacted. And you,” Dante poked his finger into Vergil’s shoulder, “are impossible to keep in contact with, the moment you and I separate.”

He considered those words, and responded: “You don’t need me here, Dante. You have a perfectly happy family. Nero certainly likes you better than he would like me. After everything that’s happened, it would be better if you left me out of the equation.”

He expected, of course, for Dante to get mad, like he did when V told him what the job was about. 

He did get mad, but not in the way Vergil expected. 

Dante leaned forward from where he was sitting, set down the whiskey and steepled his fingers, eyes narrowed at Vergil with his head tilted: “Why do you think you can’t be part of this family, Vergil?”

“I…”

“I’m not going to abandon you. Even if you did kind of do that to me. And to Nero, regardless of the circumstances.” 

Vergil didn’t like to admit to being stunned. But he was. 

“You’ve changed somewhat, Dante.”

“Have I?” 

He couldn’t quite say he understood in what way, however. But Dante sighed, and leaned back into the couch. “You’re part of this family, too. Sure, a few of them are wary of you right now, but if you put in some effort, it can get better.”

Letting the conversation sink in, Vergil fiddled with the sash to the Yamato. Strange, this sash wasn’t this colour before. Had it been replaced?

“...Your daughter. Snow, was it? She’s far too trusting.”

Dante snorted. “Is that your way of saying she’s too kind?” But then he grinned. “She’s a good girl. Hard to believe she’s 21 already. Time sure went by fast.”

“And the boys?”

“Turned 19 not too long before you raised that stupid tree. April birthday. I once told Kassy that they were the best early birthday gift she’d given me.” 

The expression Dante had, Vergil felt almost envious of it. He seemed so relaxed, talking about his family like that. 

“You’re quite proud of them, then.”

“Of course. And Nero’s a good kid, too. You could be proud of him, too, you know. You’d just have to get to know him, first.” Dante grinned while he turned the conversation topic back to Nero once again. 

“What reason would he want to get to know me? In case you have forgotten, I ripped his arm off. From the offense alone, I don’t believe he’ll be willing to…”

“He will. It might take time, but… he’s known for a few years now. We all thought you were dead, you know. I might have only told him that you were dead, though. Figured he didn’t need to know the details of what led to that. So I had precious little to tell.”

He didn’t have a response for him. Not entirely in words, at least. He slowly blinked, in a sign that he heard the words and would consider it. 

So Dante changed the topic: “Also, Snow asked me something. Something she wasn’t sure if she could ask you straight up. She was wondering if you’d be willing to show her your swordplay.”

“Did she, now? Why?”

“Verge… you know I hate boosting your ego, but I’ll say this once: had you been around instead of having fucked off into Hell, I would have been happy to ask you to help teach her how to wield that katana that Kassy’s family sent for her.”

He continued to nervously thread the sageo through his fingers. “You would have? Even after all the times we’ve fought, before I, as you so eloquently put, ‘fucked off to hell’?”

This time, Dante slapped the back of his hand into Vergil’s shoulder. “Don’t be difficult. Yes. Because you’re my brother. And I would give the best that I can offer to my kids, okay? And if the best for Snow’s sword training would come from you, then I’d want that for her. For you, even. Imagine, if this entire mess didn’t turn out the way it did. I’m sure you would have wanted to teach Nero how to use the Yamato, wouldn’t you? Could have taught them together. Besides, I wouldn’t have let you refuse.”

“I see… So, I presume you would not be allowing me to refuse this request, either?”

“Damn right I won’t let you. Snow’s also pretty close to Nero, you know. He’s her favorite cousin. Get on my Snowflake’s good side, and she’ll be happy to help you with Nero.”

There was something endearing about that nickname. 

“Very well, then. Perhaps…” He stopped fiddling with the sash, and clicked the Yamato out of her sheath, revealing a bit of her bright blade. “It’s never bad to start a conversation with swords.”

“Just don’t _hurt_ anyone.” 

Dante’s warning actually carried heavy implications of repercussions to it. He truly was protective of his family. 

“...I won’t, Dante. Not to family. Not anymore.” He responded softly. “They deserve better than the mess our lives have wrought.”

**Author's Note:**

> \- I thought “Tony” was too perfect not to choose. Finding a name for his sibling, however, was hard, but I settled on “Caesar” kind of in comparison to Nero, but also to make a very stupid historical-fiction joke. (Shakespeare)  
> \- Fiction vs. Reality moment: health recommendation time. It’s best to give it about 18 months between pregnancies. I had to think about it and decided that, well, Kassy isn’t entirely human. So I threw a worry out the window.  
> \- I have an entire timeline made to the best of my ability, and slotted Dante and Vergil’s birthday into early April for my timeline, giving them the star sign of Aries.  
> \- By all means, Aegis would have sent gifts for the little twins, also. Pretend that he did, I just didn’t think them up yet… because I don’t really have a concrete idea of what they are like yet!  
> \- In my head, someone called Dante a 美男神, and called the kids 仙子. “Fairy” is honestly a bad translation but Kassy’s follow up basically explains it: they look divine. And it’s true. But I think I’ve waxed poetic about this through several of my fics already. Dante and Vergil are beautiful. <3  
> \- Every time I get to the anime arc, I always want to try and save Baal and Modeus… but I really didn’t have time to flesh things out here, not to mention, this is supposed to be focusing on Dante’s life with children.  
> \- I AM SORRY LUCIA. Incidentally, I didn’t really find a good place in the flow of this disaster of a story to put it in there, but Lucia DOES find her way back. Same way Dante did; found a hole in the underworld. And she shows up at the shop to return the coin he lent her as a “good luck charm.” If I had the time to make this something more fleshed out, I would better show how Lucia becomes part of the crew, too.  
> \- (Though, another apology to Lucia: someday I’ll write you a fic for you and Dante. But here, he’s taken. Sorry girl.)  
> \- Once again, these were all drabbles written without a lot of details :’D I really couldn’t afford to make another multi-chapter fic. Sorry!!! Maybe in the future I could flesh this out with additional short drabbles? Because even I can see all the missing scenes here. (I also have a LOT more in my head already fleshed out. I just don't have time right now.)


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